


Loyalties Lie [s.r]

by stareyedplanet



Category: MCU, Marvel
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:14:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24117835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stareyedplanet/pseuds/stareyedplanet
Summary: Camryn Simmons had been loyal to SHIELD since attending the Academy when she was 13. Now graduated and a level six agent, Camryn believes SHIELD can do no wrong. Believing in the organization, she never questioned anything, not even when things began to get strange.The world began to change with the introduction of heroes and aliens, and Camryn began to struggle to keep up. With new information coming to light, Camryn realizes she must reevaluate where her loyalties were, otherwise she might pay with her life. Steve Rogers only seemed to make things more complicated.[steve rogers x oc][avengers — avengers : endgame]
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 14





	1. 01

Her bow glided effortless against perfectly tuned strings. She had never seen the music before, yet it was as though she had been practicing for weeks. Eyes never settled in one place, hardly paying attention to the notes on the pages before her. There was a much more important task than the music at hand.

“I’ve got eyes on the target,” she said, spotting the exact man she was looking for by the entrance.

“Simmons, do not engage,” a voice responded in her ear.

“Copy.” Simmons replied, her eyes now flicking between the black-haired man and the black notes on the white page.

All was well, at least until the security guard had attempted to stop said target. That was when all hell broke loose.

With the cane he had in his hand, he hit the guard across the face, grabbing one of the scientists attending the event.

The guests were already scared, and their fear only deepened when the dark-haired man shoved something into the scientists eye, a sort of morbid excitement overtaking him.

People screamed and ran towards the exits, and the man just watched, a smirk on his face.

Violin abandoned, Camryn disobeyed orders. Unstrapping the gun hidden underneath her long black dress, she unclipped the safety.

“I’m engaging,” she said hastily, ignoring the protests of the woman on the other end.

“Do not engage! I repeat, do not engage with Loki!”

But it was too late.

“Hands up!” She shouted at the god of mischief.

Loki seemed to comply, but only for a second before his anger was directed at her. She dodged his attacks swiftly, taking a shot, only to watch the bullet stop in midair and fall to the ground.

Loki grabbed her by her throat and slammed Simmons to the ground, her head hitting the floor painfully, stars dotting her vision. The gun was knocked from her hand and she grasped desperately for anything she could use against him.

Her fingers grasped something thin and she recognized it to be a Violin bow. It was all she had so she hit him with it.

It wasn’t particularly painful, but it was effective enough to distract Loki with mild confusion. It gave Simmons enough time to get her feet underneath his body and push him away, rolling out of his reach.

She was back up in an instant, desperately catching her breath.

“Weak mortal. Your attempts are futile,” Loki hissed, glaring at her. She was wasting his time.

Simmons' head was swimming, the lack of oxygen having taken a toll on her body.

“At least I’m one of the good guys,” she bit back.

“Good and bad is subjective. Kneel, and I shall let you live.”

Simmons spit at the god. Her first mistake.

Her second mistake came when she allowed herself to become distracted by her earpiece. It was all Loki needed to grab her harshly by the arm and throw her.

For the second time in the short fight, she found herself face to face with the ground, blood spilling from her busted lip. She groaned, the sound making Loki scoff and walk away from her, leaving her on her own.

“Simmons! Camryn?” The same voice shouted, causing Camryn to wince. “Camryn do you copy?”

“Natasha could you do me a favor and shut the hell up?” Camryn asked, her body still on the ground. She slowly pushed herself up, ignoring the spots that danced in her eyes at the movement.

“What part of  _ do not engage _ do you not understand?” Natasha asked harshly.

“The do not part?” Camryn suggested, gathering her gun from the ground. “Where is Loki?”

“Outside. Don’t worry. Cap’s got him.”

“Oh, because I was so worried,” Camryn said sarcastically. She had nothing against the Captain, but it got quite tiresome hearing about him every day from Coulson, her supervising officer.

“Just get your ass outside,” Natasha ordered her, a muffled sound occurring as she spoke to someone else.

Running outside, despite her six inch heels and swimming head, it was no difficult task to locate Captain Roger, red white and blue shield flying. Taking off her heels and watching as they released a wire, Camryn tilted her head in consideration of her options.

Loki’s back was turned to her, focused on Rogers. She took a running start and jumped on his back, looping the wire around his neck.

She had shocked both Rogers and Loki, the latter fighting against her. The wire dug into his skin, momentarily cutting off his air flow until he managed to throw her over his shoulders.

“You little pest,” he hissed, his voice scratchy. “I should have killed you when I had the chance, or, I suppose you do have a good heart.”

Loki moved to place the scepter over Camryn’s heart before Captain Rogers hit him away from her. Camryn couldn’t do anything but lay there, her head absolutely pounding.

_ I’m going to get absolutely so much shit from Natasha and Coulson.  _ She thought to herself.

She closed her eyes, trying to calm the ringing in her ears. She most definitely had a concussion.

“Ma’am? Are you alright?”

Camryn popped one eye open to see none other than Steve Rogers standing over her, his shield fastened securely on his back. He crouched down next to her, offering his hand to help her stand.

Camryn rested her hand in his and sat up slowly, trying not to cause herself to pass out.

“So you’re the inside eyes Fury was talking about?” He asked her.

She nodded, barely.

“Agent Camryn Simmons,” she told him, her voice raw, her throat burning.

Steve blinked. He hadn’t expected the British accent to flow from her lips. His heart ached as he remembered Peggy, and how it hadn’t been that long since he had woken up 70 years into the future. 

He regained his composure.

“Well, Agent Simmons, thank you for the help.” Captain Rogers told her. While she may have just gotten hurt, her attempts were valiant in effort.

Camryn snorted.

“I did a shit job. I was improperly informed about  _ what _ exactly I was up against it seems.” She told him, standing up and wobbling a little. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get on the jet and try not to throw up.”

Camryn took a step forward, only to lose her balance and nearly fall again. Steve had grabbed her before she could, his arms looping under her shoulders.

“Not that I don’t think you can handle it, but do you mind if I get you to the jet myself? You seem to be a little unsteady on your feet.” He told her, remaining as polite as possible.

Steve was truly worried about her health, as he would any agents. It was clear she wasn’t completely okay, and if just walking was a struggle, something was undeniably wrong. It would make him feel better if he knew she was alright.

The young agent waved her hand in approval and Steve carefully led her to the awaiting Quinjet. Loki was already sitting on one of the benches, cuffed. When Camryn boarded, she was immediately met with the disapproving gaze of Natasha.

“Next time I tell you not to do it, you sure as hell better not.” Natasha scolded, coming to Camryn’s other side.

“I feel that with my prior exhibitions of not following orders, it was to be expected. Not to mention, one could blame the fact that I was improperly informed about the nature of the target.”

“Good. Still as snippy as ever. Means you aren’t too broken.” Natasha rolls her eyes. “Still, you're going to the med-team as soon as we get back.”

“Like hell I am. I’m fine. Besides, they’ll just give me an ice pack and send me on my way.”

“Camryn,” Natasha said with warning.

“Natasha,” Camryn sniped back, crossing her arms.

“Just sit down and be quiet.” The woman eventually sighed, taking her place back in the co-pilot’s seat.

Camryn complied for once in her life and sat in the seat furthest away from Loki. She didn’t like the way he stared, and even if she could never truly escape from his gaze, it was more comforting to not be sitting right next to him.

The Quinjet took off and started the lengthy journey back to the Helicarrier. All Camryn could think about was getting into a bed and sleeping. She had been awake for 27 hours and she was exhausted. So she planned to nap on the plane ride. But it seemed the others on the jet had different plans.

“You know, I was wondering where I had heard your voice before. Then I remembered, about a week ago, this woman was in a hurry and ran straight into me. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?” Steve asked her, leaning against the wall.

“That was you?” She asked, recalling the memory.

_ Camryn had been running extremely late for her mission in Germany. She had been given ten minutes before Coulson was due to pick her up, and it was verging on thirty minutes. So she had grabbed her bag, said goodbye to her cat, left a note for her roommate, and ran out the door. _

_ She rushed down the stairs, taking them two at a time before she slammed straight into someone, sending them toppling down a few stairs and onto the landing below. Luckily it was only about three steps, but it hadn’t stopped the man from wrapping his arms around her and cushioning her fall. _

_ “Oh my god, I am so sorry.” She blabbered as she climbed off of the man. She didn’t even have much time to focus on his features, picking up her bag and glancing as he stood. _

_ “It’s alright. Nothing got broken.” He tells her. _

_ “Well, if anything is I’m in apartment D7. Just bill me. I’m sorry. I really have to go.” She says again, walking backwards down a few steps before turning around and continuing to the lobby of the building, grumbling as she made her way to the car that held Coulson. _

“Did you bill me?” Camryn asks, looking up at him.

“What?” He asked, eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “Oh. No, I didn’t. It was just my gym bag. Nothing was broken. Though I do understand now why you were in such a hurry. A mission. To Germany?”

Camryn nods. “I was on assignment, and had just finished up when they located Loki. It wasn’t hard to slip me in undercover. No one ever pays attention to who is in the orchestra.”

“Well, that’s a pretty impressive switch. You had only maybe an hour to get ready. We only located him about two hours ago.” Steve comments.

“Yeah, well, it’s the life of an agent. Coulson trusts me. I do what I need to.” She tells him. “Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’ve been awake for over a day and I would like some sleep.”

“Of course, Agent Simmons.” Steve nods before pushing off the wall and going to talk to Tony.

Camryn closed her eyes again and rested her head back. She had a very stressful and physically straining job. There was hardly a day in her life when she returned home not exhausted, or sore, or injured in some capacity. But she wouldn’t have it any other way.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been asleep when thunder boomed and shook the plane. She opened her eyes, immediately on alert, something in her gut telling her this was no ordinary storm.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

“Not sure. But it’s putting him on edge. He’s scared of a little lightning.” Steve replied.

“I’m not scared of the lighting, I’m just not overly fond of what follows.” Loki explains, looking pale as he spoke.

“What? Thunder?” She asks with a roll of her eyes.

A loud thud sounded from the top of the plane, causing Camryn to jump. They were in flight. Nothing should be able to land on them, especially not with that amount of force. There is the faint outline of a figure on the top of the jet, entirely shocking to the entire group.

She stood up and grabbed her gun as Steve and Tony put on their respective helmets, preparing for a threat they didn’t know much about. Tony slammed a hand on the button to lower the hatch.

“What the hell?” She mutters, both hands gripping her weapon tightly.

“What are you doing?” Steve asks stiffly.

Tony was about to reply when the figure landed on the ramp, hitting Tony into Steve and causing the both of them to fall backwards, nearly hitting Camryn in the process. She made a split second decision and stepped in front of Loki, gun raised. The man practically towered over Camryn, but wasted no time in roughly shoving her to the side, and on top of Steve who was still trying to recover from his fall. She groaned as she landed, Steve‘s arms shooting out to catch her and soften her fall.

Camryn grabbed her gun that had fallen from her hands aiming for the new addition to their little group. She pulled the trigger, barely missing him as he jumped out of the jet.

“Who was that?” She asked, hoping someone else on this jet had an answer. She moved off of Steve, who had been kind enough to not immediately shove her off of him.

“Another Asgardian?” Natasha suggests.

“Doesn’t matter who or what he is. He has Loki. Which means we need to get him back.” Canryn sighed, rubbing her head to ward off a worse headache.

“Stark, we need a plan of attack.” Steve reasons as Tony walked to the edge of the ramp.

“I have a plan.” He says, turning and looking over his shoulder. The front of his mask clicks into place as he utters the next word. “Attack.”

He flew out of the jet, Camryn rolling her eyes. Tony was going to be a pain to work with. ‘Attack’ was not a plan. It was a reaction. One that ended with more destruction and collateral damage than necessary.

“Well, he certainly has a flair for the dramatic.” She comments. “Now what are you doing?”

“Going after them.” Steve says, strapping a parachute on his back and grabbing his shield.

“I wouldn’t. These guys are basically gods. No offense, but you’re human.” Camryn scoffs. Why were all the men on this jet extremely dumb? At least she and Natasha had some sense.

“Super human, ma’am. And I can handle myself.” He tells her before jumping out of the plane.

Camryn looked to Natasha, her features showing her utter exasperation with what had just transpired. This was putting a damper on her sleep. That’s all she wanted. A chance to sleep in a real bed. Or the poor excuse for a bed that the Helicarrier provided.

“Ten bucks the overload of testosterone causes a lot of damage.” She steps to Natasha’s side, holding on as the woman helped to pilot the jet back around to pick them up.

She grins. “Deal.”


	2. 02

Camryn’s pocket was feeling ten bucks heavier as the jet landed on the runway of the Helicarrier. The major damage to the forest had been expected, a good radius of trees having been taken out in whatever had transpired between the three men. Luckily it ended with Thor agreeing that Loki would be brought to Shield for containment.

The god was led off the jet, cuffed and surrounded by armed agents as he was led to his high security cell. Loki looked all around at his surroundings, smirking at the fear shown on the faces of the people around him.

“Camryn. Med-bay.” Natasha instructs, arms crossed and a face that just _dared_ Camryn to argue.

“Natasha. No.” Camryn replied, naturally resisting the command. “I’m fine. See?” She spun in a circle, her arms out-stretched. “Besides, I want to see Loki interrogated.”

“You don’t have clearance for that. Hell, you don’t technically have clearance to be here. It was level seven agents. You are level six. Which means I’m a higher rank than you. Now go to the med-bay.”

“Level seven agents and any other necessary agents.” She corrects. “I am here because Coulson and Fury trust me. Otherwise they would not have let me go to that gala. I want to see this through.”

The two entered a heated argument, Natasha urging her to go get checked out, and Camryn doing nothing but disagreeing and fighting her suggestions.

“What’s going on?” Steve asks.

“None of your business,” Camryn snaps, huffing as she glared at Natasha.

“She’s being stubborn and won’t go get checked out by a doctor.” Natasha explains to him. “Please tell her she is being dumb.”

Camryn scoffed, looking at Natasha incredulously. “I do not take orders from you. And I most certainly do not take orders from him.”

“Agent Simmons, ma’am, you probably have a concussion. You were uneasy on your feet when I got to you.” Steve tells her. “Why won’t you go get checked out?”

Before Camryn could even reply Natasha was a step ahead of her. “Because she wants to see Loki get interrogated.”

Steve nods. “Would it be possible to get one of the doctors to come to her? She could watch and then still get checked out.”

“That’s not a half bad idea. How does that sound to you, Camryn?” Natasha asked. She received an eye roll before barely nodding her head in agreement.

Natasha sent another agent to get one of the doctors and send them to the bridge. Then the trio worked their way to the bridge themselves.

“So, Agent Simmons, how long have you been with Shield?” Steve asked her, lagging behind Natasha so he could talk to her.

“Since I was 13.” She replied shortly.

Steve's eyes widened in surprise. “That’s awful young. If you don’t mind my asking, how old are you now?”

“22. Not that that has anything to do with my skill or abilities as an agent.”

“I never said it did, ma’am. But how does one get into this at that age?” Steve asked curiously.

“Shield Academy of Operations. A school to learn how to be a field agent. I learned all I know there. I learned a lot of different languages, different fighting styles and techniques. How to use a long list of weapons. How to go undercover. And then basic maths and other core subjects.”

“How did you manage to work your way up the ranks so quickly? That seems like it would take until you are 21. But a year to be a level six agent seems real quick.”

“I graduated from the academy at 18. I’ve been an agent for four years. Coulson has been my supervising officer since I graduated, and I earned his respect and trust. So I climbed the ranks pretty quick. I’m good at my job.” Camryn said, her tone signalling the end to their conversation.

They made it to the bridge, Camryn breaking off to the side in the direction of the Shield doctor who was waiting patiently to check her out. She listened intently, eyes glued to the monitors as the doctor checked her out, occasionally grabbing her attention to give her some instruction. It was determined she had a concussion and was given direction of what she should do, prescriptions of rest and limited exposure to electronics and light that would be ignored.

She waved the doctor away and stood next to Coulson, trying to catch up to what she had missed.

“It will let Loki keep the portal open as long as he wants.” Tony explains to the group. He babbles on, Camryn mostly tuning him out as Coulson nudged her.

“How are you doing?” He whispered to her.

“Pretty alright. Concussion. But I fought a god. So, it could be worse.” She shrugs. “You jumped Captain America yet?”

Coulson gives her a look. “No, but I have asked him to sign the trading cards at some point.”

“Just try not to fangirl too much,” Camryn snickers, hiding her smile behind her hand. They were in a serious situation. She shouldn’t be laughing.

Tony and Banner continued to talk in a language of science that Camryn had no hopes of understanding. It seemed her thoughts were shared by Steve.

“Finally, someone who speaks English!” Tony said, clapping Banner’s shoulder.

“Is that what just happened?” Steve asked the others, looking at them all.

“It’s best to not question it.” Camryn sighs, shaking her head. “They could go one for days and think that everyone around them actually understands a word of what they are saying.”

“Doctor Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you would lend a hand.” Fury chimes in.

“I’d start with that stick. It works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon, even if it is magical.” Steve suggests.

Fury shakes his head in disagreement. “I don’t know about that, but I can tell you it’s powered by the cube. And I want to know how Loki used it to turn two of our sharpest men into his personal flying monkeys.” 

“Monkeys? I do not understand—” Thor began, utterly confused.

“I do!” Steve said instantly, a boyish grin on his face. He was glad for once he could actually understand what was being on. Everyone just stared at him, Camryn covering her smile by looking to the ground. “I understood that reference.”

Tony rolled his eyes so hard Camryn feared they might get stuck in the back of his head. “Shall we play, Doctor?” He asked Banner. The two walked off and the remaining group began to disperse.

Camryn muttered a goodbye to Coulson as she made her way through the maze of hallways to the showers. It would be the first opportunity she had to clean up and she was not risking not taking it. So she stepped into the communal showers, closing the curtain behind her as she stripped from her tattered and dirty dress.

The hot stream of water felt nice against her aching muscles, and Camryn was eternally grateful she even had the opportunity to shower. She used the one-time-use soaps and washed her hair, the previously straight hair curling in the water. When she was done, she dried herself off and wrapped the towel tight around her body as she walked over to the lockers. She punched in the code to her locker and pulled out the clothes there, slipping on the plain black tee and jeans, slipping on a leather jacket. The outfit was nowhere near standard issue, but it was all she had.

Camryn wrung the droplets from her hair with a towel, dropping it in a hamper on her way out. Then she just wandered around the hallways, knowing she should probably get some sleep.

Her plans were halted as she saw Steve walk out of the lab, moving in her direction but not noticing her. Then he stopped suddenly, an unreadable expression on his face. Steve glanced around as if mentally debating something before turning and going in the opposite direction.

Her brows furrowed in confusion as she followed after him. He was a man on a mission, walking with a purpose and not even seeming to notice her quiet footsteps behind him.

“Captain Rogers?” She called out eventually, following him down a flight of stairs. They were beginning to enter the lower levels of the helicarrier. There was mostly storage down here and a lack of other people. “Where are you going?”

“None of your concern, ma’am.” He replies, not stopping or even looking at her.

“Actually, I do believe it is. If I’m not wrong, you seem to be trying to access _restricted_ storage. Would I be correct, Captain?” She asks, increasing her speed and grabbing his arm to stop him.

Steve turned and stared down at her. “Do you ever ask questions, Agent Simmons? Or do you just follow blindly?” He asks.

“I know what I need to know. We have a hierarchy for a reason, Captain. I would think an army man would understand that. Because really, at the end of the day, how is Shield any different from the Army?”

“At least with the Army I knew exactly what I was fighting for.”

“Oh, don’t be naive Captain,” Camryn rolled her eyes. “Governments lie about their motives and information all the time. Only the people who need to know do. And that is _exactly_ how it works in Shield.”

“I’m doing this with or without your help, Agent Simmons. You and I both know you are in no state to try and stop me, so, I’d suggest either helping me, or turning around now. You want to know the secrets they are hiding just as badly as I do, I can tell.” Steve says, searching her face, but Camryn refused to break his gaze.

She was having her own internal turmoil. On one hand, Steve was right. She wanted to know what Shield was hiding. Who wouldn’t? On the other hand, it wasn’t her place. She didn’t know things for a reason and she could easily get fired for this. But ultimately she decided she would rather know that Shield was who she thought they were.

“Fine. But I doubt you will find anything.” She huffs, letting go of his arm.

Steve gave her a short nod of his head before turning around and continuing down the narrow hall. He stopped as he came upon a door, labelled ‘SECURE STORAGE 10-C.’

“It’s locked. I don't even have clearance. So what is your plan here, Rogers?” Camryn asks.

Steve doesn’t reply, looking at the door and grabbing onto the handle, prying it open with grunts of effort. Eventually the door slid open, leaving plenty of room for them to get in, and Camryn would be lying if she said she wasn’t impressed by his sheer strength.

They both slid in, staying quiet despite knowing there was a high chance no one else was in the storage room. They looked around, though Camryn wasn’t sure what exactly Steve was hoping to accomplish. With the thousands of boxes in this one room alone, it would take months to search through.

Camryn turned around to ask Steve a question when the question died on her tongue. He was no longer behind her and she turned in a circle, brows pulled together. She looked up as a quiet whistle drew her attention, finding Steve on the catwalk above, looking mildly amused at her confusion.

“How the bloody hell am I supposed to get up there?” She huffs, glaring up at him. No doubt he had used his super-soldier enhancements to get up so quickly and quietly. “Never mind, I will figure it out.”

Camryn glances at her surroundings and climbs on top of the boxes closest to the catwalk. She judges the remaining height difference before nodding to herself. Pushing off with her legs she jumped, arms stretched up high. Steve worried for a second she would fall, or he would have to try and grab her, but instead her fingers caught around the edge of the walkway, leaving her dangling.

Steve moved to help her and pull her up but backed off at the heated glare she sent him. He watched as she hauled herself up, grabbing onto the rung of the railing above her and rising higher until she could get her foot up. When she did the rest was a breeze and she climbed over the railing, pushing hair out of her face and breathing heavily.

It was Steve’s turn to be impressed.

“Well, I see you found a way to get up. Where did you learn to do that?” Steve asked, momentarily forgetting the task at hand.

“You mean a pull-up?” She replied sarcastically, motioning for him to get a move on.

“Right,” Steve replied dumbly, moving past her.

He looked around at all the various crates and cases before he seemed to find what he was looking for. Opening it, he paused, his face hardening and his blue eyes turning stormy.

Camryn came to stand by his side, looking at what he found. She was certainly shocked by what she saw. It was a type of weapon she couldn’t identify, looking much more deadly than any gun she had ever seen before. On the label above on the inside of the case, nothing else was written aside from ‘Phase Two.’ 

“What the hell?” She whispered, the Hydra symbol on the side of the weapon staring her dead in the face.

Steve’s gaze fell on her and he grabbed her arm, pushing her against the wall.

“What is this?” He demanded, glaring down at her.

“I–I don’t know!” Camryn replied, startled by his sudden show of force.

“What is Phase Two?” He said, his voice dangerously low. He believed she had been lying to him, and he hated nothing more than lying.

“I’m only a level 6 agent! I don’t know everything, Rogers!” She bites back. Camryn suddenly was aware of just how easily he could hurt her, if he really wanted to. “Now let me go! I’m not the one who has any answers! I’m just as surprised by this as you.”

Steve’s expression finally seems to soften as he recognized fear in her eyes. He let go of her and stepped away. “Sorry,” he apologized quietly.

Camryn shook her head. “Let’s just figure out what the hell is going on here.” She tells him quietly, unable to meet his gaze.

He nods, easily picking up the weapon with one hand. He was going to get the answers he wanted, one way or another.


	3. 03

Steve slammed the gun down on the table, startling the occupants of the lab. The walk back up had seemed much shorter, but this time, the pair knew exactly where they were headed.

“Phase Two is where Shield uses the cube to make weapons.” He says. Once he had taken a moment to think, it had made sense. After all, the cube was powered by the scepter. And the scepter worked similarly to a Hydra weapon, just like he had thought. He glanced at Tony. “Sorry, computer was a little slow for me.”

“Rogers, we gathered everything related to the cube. That doesn’t mean we’re—” Fury starts, but Tony cuts him off. Camryn didn’t fail to notice the look sent her direction. Fury knew she was apart of helping Steve.

“I’m sorry, Nick.” Tony says. He turns the screen he was looking at, showing it to the group. On it were the plans for a missile of sorts. It made Camryn’s blood run cold. This wasn’t what Shield was supposed to be. “What were you lying?”

“I was wrong, Director,” Steve stated. “The world hasn’t changed one bit.” There was a bitter lit to his tone, and Camryn couldn’t exactly blame him.

Camryn thought she was going to get to stay for this conversation. But her comm crackled as Coulson’s voice came alive in her ear.

“Agent Simmons, meet me on the bridge.” He states simply, and Camryn had half a mind to argue. But she knew better than to.

With one last final look at the small group she turned and walked out, missing Steve’s quizzical gaze following her. He wanted to know what was more important to her than the conversation they were having.

Camryn made her way through the halls, heading to the bridge like Coulson had instructed her to. She gave him a look as she walked closer.

“Coulson, I was in the middle of something important. What do you need?” She asked him, crossing her arms as she stood in front of him. She was annoyed she now wouldn’t get to know what was happening in the lab unless she asked about it. And by then she wasn’t sure anyone would tell her.

“I heard you disobeyed a direct order. Again.” He stated, sitting at the large table. Camryn moved to take a seat next to him, leaning back.

“Your point? I thought you knew about this already. Part of being an agent is making hard decisions. I did what I thought was best — as I always do.” Camryn explained. “What, am I about to get punished for that?”

“Actually, yes.” Coulson replied, crossing his arms over his chest. He didn’t disagree with Camryn, but even if everyone knew she was his favorite, he had to treat her the same as any level six agent. Which meant consequences for the disobeying of a direct order. “You’ll be on probation for two weeks. Camryn, you have to learn your lesson here. You can’t keep doing this.”

“You can’t do this! It was a stupid order! I helped.” Camryn said, standing up suddenly. This was ridiculous. Sure she disobeyed an order, but two weeks was a little much.

“I’m sorry, Camryn. It’s just how things are. If every agent did what you did there would be chaos. There is a reason we have a chain of command.” Coulson sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He knew if she continued to do things like that, like she had in the past, it was going to get her killed one day.

Camryn was about to say something else when the entire Helicarrier jolted. She looked around confused as an alarm started. blaring through the place, agents rushing to their stations. “What was that?” She asked, looking at Coulson before rushing behind an agent seated at their station.

They had lost an engine. 

“What the hell happened?” She asked, everyone in a flurry behind her.

“Number three engine is down!” She heard Maria call out behind her, causing her to turn around and look at the woman. She rushed over, trying to figure out how she could help.

“Hill! What can I do?” Camryn asked, knowing she was of no use in the bridge.

“Get down to engine three and help get any one who is stuck out of there.” She said, waving Camryn away quickly. 

Camryn nodded, making her way over to Coulson. “What are you going to do?” She asked, noticing the look on his face. “Coulson?”

“I have something in mind.” He replied.

“Do you need my help?” She asked. Camryn would always help him first if needed.

“No. I can handle it. You go do what Hill told you. I’ll be okay by myself.” Coulson assured, his tone leaving no room for argument.

It was all Camryn needed before she was rushing through the carrier, navigating to engine three. She was weaving in and out of the other agents running around, some panicking, others trying to get to where they needed to be to help.

When she got to engine three, Rogers and Stark were already there. There was a large gaping hole out the door where the helicarrier was blasted. She was within range of their comms so hers automatically connected.

“What can I do?” She asked them, holding onto something as her hair whipped around her head, her voice raised so her words wouldn’t get carried away by the wind.

“Simmons! Good, I need you to help Cap with the relays! Can you get over to him?” Stark’s voice echoed in her ear. 

Camryn glanced over to where Steve was and noticed the large gap. If she fell, she’d be dead.

“Uh, I can try.” She replied.

“Rogers get ready to catch her.” Tony warned. He didn’t really want for her to fall. He would catch her but he didn’t want to have to.

Camryn took a deep breath as she made eye contact with Steve who was getting in position to help her across. She knew she could do it. She could make the jump without help, but the extra security was nice.

“Ready?” Camryn asked, looking at Steve. She stood back to get a running start. “3… 2… 1!”

At the count she ran and jumped at the last step. For a moment she felt like she was weightless as she moved through the air to the otherside. Then, as quickly as it came it was gone, and she was stumbling into Steve’s arms. She looked up at him, her heart pounding in her chest from the nerve-wracking jump.

“Ok. Good. Great. Not dead yet.” Camryn said, moving around him to the panel he had been looking at. 

Steve moved to lean beside her as they looked at the panel, quickly explaining what needed to be done. And Camryn did it much quicker than he would have, considering he had only woken up in this century months ago and had little clue about the complex technology.

“The relays are intact! What now?” Camryn called into the comms as they closed the panel.

“Even if I clear the rotors this thing isn’t going to start without a jump…” Tony mumbled, his words quiet. “...I’m going to have to get in there and push.”

“If that thing gets up to speed it’ll kill you!” Steve pointed out, hand on his ear as he spoke.

“Then stay in the control unit and

reverse polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that should—” Tony began, his words making no sense to either of them.

“Speak English!”

“See that red lever over there?” Tony said, causing both Camryn and Steve to look that direction. “I need you to stand by it and pull it when I tell you too. It should slow down the rotor long enough for me to get out.”

Camryn watched as Steve jumped over to the lever and stood by it. And all she could do was watch. She thought they would be okay until the helicarrier tilted. They had lost another engine. 

Tony was pushing the rotor and Camryn’s attention was on that. The sound of bullets made her turn, and her hand automatically pulled out the gun attached to her hip. The gunman forced Steve over the edge and he barely managed to grab onto a wire. She raised her gun and shot at the person shooting at Steve. It took a moment before Camryn got a clean shot that diabled the shooter for a second.

“Cap, pull the lever!” Tony called, the rotors having picked up enough speed.

“Kind of busy here!”

“Cap, lever. Now!” Tony was growing slightly frantic as he was no longer able to keep up with the speed.

Camryn managed to take the agent out as Steve hauled himself back up and crawled to the lever, pulling it down with one movement. Tony was sucked into the rotor and pushed out, him gaining his balance before flying over to the two. 

“Well, looks like we did it.” Camryn commented, putting her gun away as she looked at the other two.

“That we did, 007.” Tony said as he landed.

Camyn rolled her eyes at the new nickname. It wasn’t entirely appreciated at all. “Let’s go. I’m sure others need our help.” She told the two boys.

They began walking through the halls, Tony and Steve on better terms.

“Agent Coulson is down.”

The words were spoken calmly, but to Camryn, it felt like a blow to the heart. As her brain struggled to comprehend the words, her feet stumbled and she tripped, falling hard to the ground. And she didn’t move for a second, time itself seeming to slow.

“Can I have a repeat of that last one, sir?” Camryn whispered, willing her voice not to waver.

“Agent Coulson is down.” Fury repeated for everyone on comms. “The medical team called it.”

Steve and Tony approached her carefully, having stopped when they heard her fall. But rather than take Steve’s outstretched hand, Camryn pushed herself up and rushed off, needing to get away before she couldn’t stop her tears.

She ran until she found an empty room, gasping for breath as she slammed the door shut behind her, sliding down it as hot tears began to stream down her face. She couldn’t breathe. Her breaths were coming out in short gasps, the noises quickly turning to sobs.

She had known Coulson for years. He had quickly become a second father to her, always caring for her and looking out for her. He had been her supervising officer when she first graduated from the academy, and he just never got rid of her. She became his second, his right hand, or as they liked to joke often, his left hand.

But now he was gone, and he wasn’t coming back. Loki had killed him. 

Camryn wasn’t sure how long she sat there crying before her tears dried up. Her sadness was replaced by anger, and her fists clenched. She was mad. Angry at Loki. Angry at the universe. Coulson never deserved this. He didn’t deserve to die.

And lastly, she was angry at herself. Maybe if she had insisted on going with him, he would be alive right now. Maybe if she hadn’t let him go alone he would be having a grand old time talking to her about Captain America. Maybe, Coulson would get to live another day if she had just helped him.

She wasn’t sure, but she was pissed off. Camryn needed to blow off some steam. And the only good place to do that was the gym. So she picked herself up off the ground, wiped away the tears from her cheeks and under her eyes, and took a breath, steeling her expression. Good agents didn’t let their emotions control them.

When she was sure she wasn’t going to begin crying again, she opened the door and made her way through the hallways, keeping her head high despite her tear stained cheeks and puffy eyes.

She made her way to the gym, which was unsurprisingly empty. The ship had just been attacked so it made sense, but Camryn was quite glad to have the gym to herself. 

She slipped her jacket from her shoulders and set it on one of the benches, finding the tape there and wrapping up her hands. She did it slowly and meticulously, needing the familiarity of the action. She needed something that was normal, something that couldn’t be taken from her.

She stood up after lacing up her tennis shoes tighter and walked over to one of the punching bags.

Then she just started punching.

Camryn hit the bag over and over again, grunting as her fists made contact. She just let go and punched and punched and punched. She hit the bag again and again, spending so long there that tears had started streaming down her cheeks once more. She put her hands flat on the bag to stop it, leaning against it as she breathed heavily.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead as she walked over to the water fountain, desperate for a drink.

“Quite a bit of fight you’ve got there.” A voice she knew well said.

“What do you want, Rogers?” She asked, barely glancing over her shoulder to see him standing against the opposite wall of the gym. He began to walk closer so they could talk easier.

“Loki is headed to New York.” Steve said simply. “We could use all the help we could get.”

“Who is ‘we?’” She asked skeptically.

“Romanoff. Barton. Stark. Maybe Thor and Banner. We don’t know about them. We need your help. You in?” Steve asked her.

Camryn leaned against the edge of the fountain, head bowed. She turned her head to look at him, her expression hardening. Camryn knew what she needed to do. She had to do it.

“I’m in.”


	4. 04

Camryn sat in the Quinjet, checking the various weapons she had gathered. She had been told to grab more than what she normally might since they didn’t know exactly what they were going up against. So she had grabbed two guns, plenty of refill cartridges, as well as three knives stashed away on her body. And her personal favorite, her throwing stars.

Most of the time her stars weren’t practical, and so she tended to use a gun, but they were a last line of defense if the time came to it. She hoped she wouldn’t need them though.

She stood up as she finished her final check on her weapons. “What’s the game plan here?” She asked Steve, moving to stand in front of him. “Because if Loki has an army and that portal gets opened, we have no clue what we’ll be up against.”

“We try to stop Loki. And if we can’t, we fight.” Steve said, like it was the most simple thing ever. But it wasn’t. They had no idea what Loki’s army looked like, or how to fight them. Aliens were new territory for all of them.

“What a comprehensive plan.” Camryn replied sarcastically. “I do hope you don’t ever lead Shield missions with that creativity.”

Steve shot Camryn an unimpressed look. He wasn’t sure he had ever met someone with as much of a mouth as she had. She always had some witty reply, and girls from the 40s just typically weren’t like that. Most of them at the very least. He was momentarily reminded of Peggy, and his heart ached. He missed her. He missed his life. Sometimes he wished he had never been saved from the ice.

He was broken from his thoughts when Natasha warned the two passengers that it would be a rough landing. He grabbed the handle above him, watching as Camryn did the same. It took him a minute to realize one of the wings of the jet had been hit, and they were going down fast. 

They crashed into the ground quickly, everyone jerking. Camryn struggled to hold onto the grips above her, her feet lifting from the ground. In a quick motion Steve managed to wrap an arm around her to steady her until they had stopped moving.

They all breathed a collective sigh of relief, Natasha and Clint unbuckling their seatbelts as Camryn pushed away from Steve.

“Uh, thanks, I guess.” She said quietly, clearing her throat as she hit the button to open the ramp. The two previous pilots followed her and Steve down, their weapons in hand. They had no clue what they were walking into.

The group ran into the streets, finding themselves in the middle of a four-way street when a deep roar bellowed through the city, bringing everything to a stop, including the four heroes. They looked up as a shadow overpassed them, easily spotting the wide open portal in the middle of the sky.

“Well shit. That can’t be good.” Camryn murmured a moment before a huge beast passed through over top of them. “Yep. Nope. Not good at all.”

Chitauri soldiers began to fling themselves off the beast and attach to the sides of buildings, sliding down moments later. Others crashed into the buildings in a much more destructive way, beginning to fire their weapons at civilians.

“Stark, are you seeing this?” Steve asked breathlessly, his surprise clear. He had never thought he would see such a thing as aliens, but here they were.

“Seeing. Still working on believing,” Tony’s voice crackled in their ear. “Where’s Banner? Has he shown up yet?”

“Banner?” Steve asked, confused as to why Tony believed he might show up. Banner was MIA as far as they knew.

“Just keep me posted.” He said before his comm clicked off.

The group ran behind some crashed taxis and crouched down to avoid taking fire while they were trying to figure out some sort of plan. They glanced up to see Loki flying overhead, destruction and terror being left in his wake.

Steve looked down below the bridge, seeing all the people trying to run away from what was happening.

“Those civilians need help.” He told the other three, turning to look at them.

Two chitauri landed after he spoke, both Camryn and Natasha pulling out their guns and firing at them.

“Go, we’ve got this.” Natasha said quickly, continuing to fire as more soldiers came.

“Yeah, what she said. Seriously, Rogers, go! No need to keep talking about it.” Camryn added, firing the opposite direction as Natasha. “There’s three of us. How many of them could there possibly be?”

Steve gave her a look before turning to Clint and speaking to him quickly. Between the three of them, they gave the man enough time to drop from the bridge to the people in need below.

“Barton! Bus!” Camryn called, giving him cover as he ran to the bus to help the people trapped inside. She ran over to help him, shooting a few of the Chitauti on her way over.

While he worked on getting the door open, she helped parents get their children out through the window, Natasha taking shots at any of the aliens stupid enough to try and get to the area. Clint eventually jerked the doors open, people fleeing from inside.

“Go on! Go! Go! Get underground! Basements, subways, go!” Camryn shouted at them, offering them protection as they got out of there.

The two Shield agents joined Natasha behind her cover of an overturned vehicle and some rubble. Clint’s arrows met their mark every time he shot one, and Natasha used so many bullets she emptied her clips. 

“Just like Budapest all over again.” Natasha commented as she used her two guns, one in each hand.

“You and I remember Budapest very differently.” Clint shot back, making Camryn give the two a strange look.

“Uh, what exactly happened in Budapest?” She asked them over the sound of gunfire.

“A story for another time, don’t you think?” Natasha mentioned, the group beginning to find alternative methods of killing the soldiers. Clint jammed an arrow into one of the soldier’s neck after tripping him to the ground, Natasha acquiring one of the alien blasters.

Camryn huffed as she pulled a knife out. “Look at you two showing me up.” She called to them as she sliced one of the Chitauri across the neck. Even when Steve had joined in the group was beginning to get overwhelmed by the amount of soldiers.

Relief came in the form of lightning striking down upon the Chitauri, scaring the hell out of Camryn and making her shriek quietly, the others sending her an amused look.

“What? I’m still getting used to the whole gods and aliens thing and it scared me!” She defended herself, taking the moment to breathe.

“What’s the story upstairs?” Steve asked Thor, ignoring Camryn’s outburst.

“The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable.” Thor replied, looking between everyone as he spoke.

“Thor is right. We gotta deal with these guys.” Tony said in their comms.

“Yeah, no shit.” Camryn said, launching one of her throwing stars at a Chitauri that was trying to sneak up on the group.

“How do we do this?” Natasha asked, earning her the optimistic reply of ‘as a team’ from Steve.

“I have unfinished business with Loki.” Thor boomed.

“Yeah, sparkles? Well everyone else does too.” Camryn said sternly, thinking of Coulson in the moment. Loki killed him, and he had to pay.

“Save it.” Steve told them sternly. “Loki’s going to keep this fight on us, and that’s what we need. Without him these things could run wild. With Stark up top, he’s gonna need us…”

He trailed off as he heard the engine of a small motorbike come their way. The group all looked over, surprised to see Banner riding into the battle. He parked in and threw his leg over, looking around at the city.

“So this all seems horrible.” Bruce said awkwardly as he approached them.

“I’ve seen worse.” Natasha said.

“Sorry.” Bruce replied. Natasha shook her head in reply.

“No, we could use a little worse.” She decided.

“Stark? We got him.” Steve said into his comm, Tony’s voice echoing back a reply.

“Tell him to suit up. I’m bringing the party to you.” His voice said.

They all stood and waited patiently as they looked to the sky for Stark. A Leviathan followed after him, roaring loudly.

“I–I don’t see how that’s a party.” Natasha mumbled, Camryn snorting quietly.

Stark led the beast through the street, barrelling straight toward them. Camryn was somewhat zoned as she looked at the creature. And before she knew it, Hulk was roaring and launching himself toward the Leviathan, smashing into it and causing the alien to crumble. Hulk had certainly made that easier.

Tony landed beside them. “Call it, Cap.” Tony said, Camryn turning to look at the star spangled man.

“Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash.” Steve said.

“Right. Want to give me a lift?” Clint asked Tony.

“Better clench up, Legolas.” He replied before carrying Clint away from the remaining group.

“Thor, you’ve gotta trg and bottleneck that portal. Slow them down. You’ve got lightning, light the bastards up.” Steve instructed, Thor listening to his words and launching himself away. Steve looked to Natasha. “You and me, we stay on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk,” Steve paused, holding up a finger. “Smash.” Hulk smirked and roared before launching himself away from the trio.

“Simmons, I need you to—” Steve started, but Camryn cut him off.

“I’m on damage control. Helping civilians.” Camryn told him. She gave him no time

to argue before she was running off, heading to an area where there were people trapped by the aliens or too scared to leave.

Some people had the good sense to stay inside if there were aliens outside, but others were running around out in the open and screaming.

“Hey! Hey, you’ll be okay! Everyone shut up!” She shouted to the people who were freaking out and then not listening to her. “Get to the nearest subway station! If you see anyone, help them.” She said sternly, the small group looking at her with wide eyes.

“Go! Go!” She shouted at them, waving them away as one of the Chitauri landed behind her. She spun around, her hand flying to the gun attached to her thigh. In one swift motion she had the gun out, the safety clicked off. She pulled the trigger twice, the alien crying out loudly as it fell back.

Camryn turned around with a huff to see the people still standing there with their mouths opened wide in shock. “You’re my new hero.” One of them muttered, making Camryn snort.

“Go.” She said again, watching them run off this time, giving anyone else they saw the same message to get to the subway station. She would follow in a moment to make sure they were safe, but three more of the Chitauri came running, likely having heard the death of their friend.

“Alright, let’s play then.” Camryn muttered. She launched herself at the dead alien’s weapon, getting to it in time to shoot at one of the three attacking her. She jabbed the weapon backwards and spun around, watching as the creature didn’t react when the staff hit him.

Her comm crackled to life as the alien smacked her backwards, her body hitting a car. She groaned loudly, the wind knocked out at her. Camryn barely managed to duck a blast as Steve started talking in her ear.

“Simmons. Could use a hand here.” He said, grunting at the end of his sentence. 

“Little… busy…” she breathed out, throwing one of her stars after kicking the thing back. 

“Doing what?” Steve shot back quickly.

“Oh I don’t know. Maybe fighting off aliens.” Camryn snapped, finally getting the third one down after getting a hold of her gun again. She breathed heavily as she pushed her hair away from her face, collecting her throwing star from the Chitauri.

“Hello?”

Camryn hadn’t been expecting the little voice, timid and afraid. She had thought everyone had gotten cleared from the area.

“Simmons?”

“Steve, shut the hell up for one goddamn minute!” Camryn told him before turning her comm on mute to be able to listen out again.

“Hello? Is someone there?” Camryn called out, listening for the tiny voice.

“Help me!” They cried. She could tell it was a child, and so Camryn followed the sound, finding a little boy tucked between some rubble. He had tear stains on his cheeks, his brown eyes wide with fright.

“Hello there,” Camryn cooed softly, crouching down in front of him. “Can you tell me your name, sweetheart?”

“P–Peter,” the boy stuttered, pressing himself further into the rubble he was hiding in.

“Hi, Peter. I’m Camryn. Do you know where your family is?” She asked, trying to reach for him, but he shied away.

“Are you… one of the al–aliens?” He hiccuped, wiping his snotty nose.

“No. I’m not, Peter. I’m one of the good guys. I’m gonna help you find your family, okay?”

“O–Okay.” He mumbled, walking into her opened arms. She lifted him onto her hip as she stood up, looking around to make sure no Chitauri were in sight.

“How old are you, Peter?” Camryn asked, beginning to head towards where she hoped she might find some police officers to help him out.

“T–Ten.” He stuttered, lifting his head to look at her with glassy eyes. “Cami… I’m scared…”

“Hey, don’t be scared, Peter. It’s gonna be alright.” She told him, giving him a squeeze. She suddenly remembered her comm, and unmuted it to find Steve calling out to her. “Rogers, can you stop with the yelling?”

“Simmons, why were you not responding?” Steve asked.

“I muted my comm.” Camryn said as she weaved in and out of rubble, ducking to hide when she spotted some Chitauri looking for trouble.

“You  _ muted your comm. _ ” Steve repeated. “Do you realize how much of a bad idea that is?”

“Yeah, yeah. Not the time. Look, how quickly can you get to my location? I’ve got some Chitauri nearby and I can’t exactly take them.” Camryn said quickly, speaking in a hushed tone.

“Why not?” Steve asked, clearly still fighting aliens of his own on the other end.

“Because I have a ten year old in my arms.” Camryn said, smoothing Peter’s hair.

“I’ll send Stark over. He’ll get to you quicker.” Steve replied.

“Thanks.” Camryn said before the line went quiet. She just hoped Stark would get to her quickly.


	5. 05

She looked back at the boy in her arms. “Hey, Peter, do you know your last name?” Camryn asked him.

Peter nodded, sniffling quietly. “Parker.” He said quietly, his tears having stopped for the time being.

“Can you tell me about your family? Your mommy and daddy?” Camryn asked, looking to the sky for Tony.

“I–I don’t have those…” Peter frowned. “My mommy and daddy died. My Auntie May and Uncle Ben take care of me.”

“Are their last names the same as yours?” Camryn asked. She felt bad for the little boy. She hoped they had only gotten separated and not killed in the attack.

Peter shrugged. “I don’t know.” He told her.

“Okay. It’s okay. We’ll find them. I promise, Peter.” Camryn said, smiling when she heard Tony and looked up to see his suit flying and taking out the Chitauri. He landed in front of them minutes later, his mask opening up as he held his hand out to help Camryn up.

“You alright, 007?” Tony asked as he hauled her to her feet.

She rolled her eyes at the nickname but nodded. “Yeah, we’re okay. Right Petey?” Camryn asked, the ten year old looking starstruck as he stared at Tony. Camryn laughed quietly.

“Where are the nearest police officers?” Camryn asked Tony. His mask flipped down in reply as he used Jarvis to find the location.

“Two blocks north. Need a lift?” Tony asked, his voice roboticized by his mask.

“No, I’ve got it. Thanks, Tony.”

“You’ve got it kid. Now get back to work.” He told her before flying off.

“Woah,” Peter mumbled, his eyes wide as he watched Iron Man fly off into the sky.

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool, isn’t it? Now c’mon. Let’s go get you to one of the officers.” She said as she lifted him back onto her hip and made sure it was clear before heading north like Tony had told her to. She had to get the little boy to safety.

It took her ten minutes to get him to a police officer. She knew on her own it would have been quicker but she was trying to not run into any of the Chitauri. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw one.

“Hey! You, I need you to take him and get him someplace safe.” She said quickly, setting Peter on the ground. But when she tried to hand him over to the officer he started to cry.

“No! I wanna stay with you, Cami!” He cried, reaching out for her. He had already gotten attached in such a short amount of time.

“Peter, hey, it’s gonna be okay. I’ll come back and find you afterwards, okay? But I’ve gotta go help Iron Man and his friends get rid of the nasty aliens, okay?” She said softly as she crouched in front of him. “Here, will you hold onto this for me?” She asked, handing him one of her throwing stars. “Be careful though, it’s sharp, okay? But I’m gonna need that back eventually so I’ll come and find you to get it back.”

She knew that it was admittedly not the smartest course of action to give a ten year old a sharp weapon, but she didn’t know what else to do to get him to comply. She had to get back to the team.

Peter looked at her with watery brown eyes as his small hands carefully grabbed onto the star. “O–Okay.” He stuttered as he sniffled. “I’ll see you later, Cami…”

“I’ll be back Pete.” She said as she ruffled his hair before running off and turning her comm back on. “What’s going on over there?” She asked.

Steve grunted, still trying to fight off some of the aliens. “We’re trying to find a way to get the portal closed off. Natasha hitched a ride to the top of the tower.” Steve explained. “Simmons, where are you?”

“On a street.” Camryn replied. She didn’t know her exact location. She had been a bit preoccupied.

“Now is not really the time for your attitude.” Steve huffed, thoroughly annoyed by her at this point and time. She seemed the type to never follow orders, even if they were for her own good.

“Oh, I’m sorry, do you want exact coordinates? I am at 123–leave–me–be–degrees.” She snapped at him. Was he really arguing with her about this?

Steve sighed in exasperation. He could already tell she was going to be a handful. Her snappy wit showed him as much.

On her way back, Camryn took out any straggler Chitauri trying to get out to the outskirts of the city and wreck as much havoc as they possibly could. 

Her energy was getting low, and she was sure she was running on nothing but adrenaline as she took out Chitauri after Chitauri, a slight ache making its way to her head. This was why doctors recommended that you didn’t do anything extraneous while recovering from a concussion. But Camryn had never really been the type to listen to what was recommended for her.

But even her adrenaline was beginning to run low. And it was showing as she began to slow down.

“Please tell me someone has a plan.” She said desperately into her comms.

“We think there may be a way to get the portal closed.” Steve said, grunting as he hit an alien with his shield.

“Well then what the hell are you waiting for? Close it!” Camryn insisted as she ran back towards where they had originally landed.

“Don’t!” Tony insisted quickly.

“Well why not, Stark?” Camryn snapped. They had a way to end this. Which means they needed to.

“Because I’ve got a nuke headed our way and I think I know just where to put it.” He replied, not bothered by her snippy tone.

“Tony, you know that’s a one way trip.” Steve said seriously, all of them stopping where they were to look up.

There was hesitation in his tone as he replied. “I know.” He said softly. He eventually told Jarvis to call Pepper. But Pepper wasn’t the one to pick up. And Camryn’s heart nearly broke as she heard Quinn’s little voice whimpering into the phone.

Camryn watched as Tony’s suit got smaller and smaller as he flew up to the wormhole, the line eventually going dead.

“Come on, Tony. One little miracle. Come on.” Camryn murmured as she looked to the sky. She and Tony went back a bit. She had accompanied Coulson when he had been assigned to keep an eye on the man. Camryn was always there, in the background. But now she wasn’t sure where she would go.

“Come on, Tony.” She said again, watching with wide eyes as she tried to spot him coming out.

“Close it.” She heard Steve say, but she could tell he really didn’t want to have to say it. None of them wanted to accept the idea that Tony may not come back.

“Copy.” Natasha said, taking another moment before pushing the scepter into the core of the power source.

Camryn watched as it began to close, her fingers crossed as she watched the sky anxiously. There was still a chance. There was still a chance he could make it. But the portal was getting smaller and smaller by the second. And eventually Camryn looked away, taking a shaky breath.

“Is that…” she heard Steve say and she looked to the sky as she saw something falling from the small hole of the portal. “He isn’t slowing down.”

Before any of them could react, a flash of green was launching toward the falling figure, but then they were out of her line of sight and Camryn started running, her feet hitting the pavement as she tried to get to where she thought they were. She wasn’t sure she could handle losing anyone else so soon to losing Coulson. That fact alone pushed her to run despite how exhausted she was. She knew time had passed much more quickly than she had realized in the moment.

She ran around the streets, hoping she was making all the right turns. Finally, after almost being convinced she had gotten turned around and lost, she spotted Thor, Steve, the Hulk, and Tony being helped up by the two blond men.

“Oh thank god.” She breathed out as she finally got to them. “You know, I wish I had known this was basically all over because I would have just stayed with the kid.”

She knew now she would have to figure out how to find him again. She had made a promise, and she didn’t intend to break it.

“Wow, what a warm welcome as I escaped death, Camryn.” Tony said with an eye roll as he stood up.

“Oh, yeah, that. I’m glad you aren’t dead.” Camryn grinned as she looked at him. “I’ll hug you when you aren’t just suit.” She assured him.

“You can do that after we handle Loki.” Steve said, looking between the two.

“And maybe take a nap. I could use one.” Camryn groaned, rubbing her head. 

“Go home, Camryn. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your concussion. We’ve got this. Really, you never should have been here.” Tony said, shooting a look to Steve. He knew it was Steve who had invited the agent. 

“Hey, she has free will. She could have said no.” Steve sighed, rubbing his face.

“And she is right here. And Loki is not in custody. So maybe we should go?” Camryn said, already walking away from them and heading towards the tower. They had more important things to do than endlessly bicker. Especially about whether Camryn was healthy enough to fight.

That was not a conversation she wished to continue.

The men had no choice but to follow her, ultimately knowing she was right. They had to deal with Loki before they could move on with their lives.

They took a ride in the elevator, things quiet as they all stood there awkwardly. But it was the quickest way to get to the upper levels. There were too many stairs otherwise. Regardless, the ride was pretty swift, Camryn knowing Tony wouldn’t have it any other way.

It was a surprise to find Loki smashed into the ground, groaning softly. The sight made Camryn snort in amusement.

“Well, that was easier than expected.” She told the others as they all lined themselves up to ensure that Loki wasn’t about to go anywhere.

Camryn watched on from the sideline, raising an eyebrow at the way all of them seemed to pose.

“If it’s all the same to you, I’ll have that drink now.” Loki groaned as he came to.

The team hardly gave him the opportunity, and quickly things were moving again. Thor put the cuffs on him and everyone was glad to know he was contained.

Things from that moment were a blur. Everything was happening so quickly. The Tesseract and Loki’s Scepter were confiscated and put in cases for safe transport, and Camryn slipped away to begin her search for Peter.

She had a promise to keep after all.

But after a few hours of searching, she reluctantly called it a day, meeting up with the team for Shawarma. She could only hope her lack of success meant Peter had been reunited with his family. But really there was no way of knowing.

It was the next morning when the team gathered for the final time, all determined to see Loki off. The god in question had his hands bound and his mouth clamped. It was a sight that pleased basically everybody.

Camryn watched from the background, her sunglasses perched on her nose. She wasn’t technically supposed to be there per her doctor's orders, but this was something she just had to see through. Loki had caused a lot of damage, and bruised her ego a bit, so it was only natural she wanted to make sure he was taken away from the Earth.

She was too far away to hear what anyone was saying, but she didn’t particularly care. She didn’t like goodbyes or partings, and she knew that was exactly what was happening. 

She watched as Thor and Loki disappeared with a flash, and she hoped the latter was never to be seen again. But she had to admit the Gods fascinated her.

Camryn knew it was over when she saw Steve approaching her. “Hey.” She said softly, mindful of being too loud.

“Hey. Didn’t expect to see you here. Aren’t you meant to be resting?” Steve asked, clear amusement lacing his tone.

“Well yes, but when do I ever follow orders?” She replied, her lips titling up in a grin. “I’m glad Loki is gone.”

“I am too.” He sighed. “The clean up of Manhattan is supposed to take a while.”

“I can imagine. It was a mess. But I’m going to see if I can help. And I still have to find the kid again, you know?” She sighed, running a hand through her hair. It bothered her she hadn’t been able to find Peter after everything that happened.

Steve nodded in understanding. “Maybe you should wait a few days though. Actually give your body time to heal. I think you have probably been running on adrenaline.”

“You’re not wrong. And that does sound like a good idea.” She sighed, chewing on her lower lip in thought. “Yeah, you’re right. I should probably head home.”

“Do you… maybe want a ride?” Steve asked hesitantly. He was sure she was going to reject his offer, but he knew it couldn’t hurt to ask.

Camryn eyed him, tilting her head to the side as she looked at him. “You promise not to wreck? I’m not really a fan of motorcycles.” She admitted.

Steve chuckled, a boyish grin coming to his face. “I promise not to wreck.” He agreed. He hesitated. “So, is that a yes?”

“I do believe that is a yes, Mr. Rogers.”

Steve laughed and led her to his motorcycle, noticing the way she eyed it skeptically.

“Come on, it’s not that bad, okay? The drive is only ten minutes. I think you’ll survive that long.” He coaxed her, offering his hand to her.

Camryn sighed and reluctantly took his hand. She climbed on the very back and perched herself, waiting for him to get on so she could cling on for dear life.

Steve threw his leg over the bike and got in position, kicking up the kickstand and turning it on. He was hyper aware of how Camryn pressed herself against his back, and how her small arms wrapped around his midsection. It had been a long time since he had had a girl this close.

The last thing the team heard from them was Camryn’s quiet shriek and Steve’s laughter as he pulled out much quicker than she liked or had been expecting.

Natasha had a feeling the two of them would become quite the pair.


	6. 06

The ringing of her phone was what woke Camryn from her nap on her couch. The sound was shrill in her ear and it made her wince, but ultimately she knew she had to answer it. She never missed a call, and when she realized it was from her parents she knew she absolutely had to answer it. Usually she got told off if she didn’t.

“Hello, mum.” She greeted tiredly as she yawned, laying back down on her couch. “How are you doing?”

“How am I doing? Is that really the question you are going to ask me? Do not go acting as though nothing is wrong, missy. You have a lot of explaining to do, you hear me?” Her mother replied swiftly, clearly annoyed.

“What do you mean, mum? I didn’t do anything.” She frowned, unsure of why her mother was so upset with her.

“Nothing? Nothing! Then why is your face plastered all over the telly alongside the Avengers?” Julia snapped at her daughter. “And don’t even try denying it’s you. I can see clear as day it’s you. ‘Woman identified as an Agent of SHIELD, was reported assisting the Avengers against the alien invasion in New York City. Some are calling her Agent 007.’”

Camryn winced. This was not good. This was not good at all.

“Mum… just let me explain.” She said softly, trying to calm the storm she knew was brewing within her mother.

“When did this happen? What even is this SHIELD? We sent you to boarding school for music! And you play in a symphony. So why the hell is it saying you are some agent?” Julia rattled off.

“Because I am. Mum, when I was thirteen you sent me to the SHIELD Academy of Operations. I learned how to be an agent there. But, we lied and pretended I was at a music school because we knew you wouldn’t let me go otherwise.” Camryn explained, her tone easy and calm.

“Who is ‘we?’” Julia huffed.

“Me and Jemma. She went to the Academy of Science and Technology, remember? You know what SHIELD is.” Camryn assured.

“We never agreed to let you risk your life for some silly agency! Jemma is a scientist. It’s different.” Julia snapped.

“Mum, I’m not going to die. Besides, I’m twenty-two. You can’t stop me at this point.” Camryn sighed. “Can we please do this later? I have a concussion.” She groaned.

Really she didn’t care about her concussion still, but it was an easy out from arguing with her mother. It was a lie that had hung over her head since she was thirteen years old and first began the difficult dance that was her cover story. Twice a year she would put on performances taught at an actual school for music to fool her parents. Meanwhile, she was also studying for her Academy exams, learning languages and the parts of a gun, as well as other skills deemed necessary. It had been a whirlwind that often left her exhausted, but it had shown her how important a good cover story was. Otherwise she would never have reached the point she was at today.

“We are not done, young lady.” Julia said stubbornly. “We will continue this when you’ve gotten some rest, but not a moment later.”

“Thanks, mum. Say hi to dad for me. And Sammy.” Camryn said, glad that her mother’s internal nurse had taken over.  
She hung up the phone with a groan, annoyed that her lie had finally caught up to her and bitten her in the ass. But it was her own fault, really. When she had agreed to help the Avengers she knew the implications of what could happen, but she never truly expected for her face to end up on the news all the way in England.

The knock on her door forced her upright, and she was about ready to snap at the second interruption of her much needed nap. The invasion had only been two days ago after all, and she was still sore and exhausted.

“What?” She asked sharply as she opened the door, frowning when she noticed it was Steve, a sheepish smile on his face. “Oh, hey. What are you doing here?” She asked him, glancing up to meet his eyes. She was quite a few inches shorter than him, a fact that actually bothered her quite a bit.

The last time Camryn had seen Steve was after he had given her the rather terrifying ride back to their apartment complex on his motorcycle. Since then they had kept their distance, not even running to each other in the hallway, which was perfectly alright with Camryn.

“Hey,” Steve said in reply, that sheepish look not leaving his face. “I was wondering if maybe you could give me a hand? Uh, Shield just gave me this watch thing and I have absolutely no idea how to use it.” He explained, offering her the small smart watch to look at.

“Oh, yeah. All agents have those. You joining?” She asked him, gesturing for him to come inside.

“Sorta. Fury wants me to have one even if I’m not, I guess.” He explained. “So, you have one of these?”

“Yeah, I do. It’s charging right now because I have been benched from missions because of my concussion. Can’t go on one until I have a doctor’s clearance which kind of sucks. I am bored out of my mind.” Camryn hummed, sitting on her couch. She watched with mild amusement as Steve hovered awkwardly in her doorway. “You going to sit down?” She asked him, raising an eyebrow as she gestured to her couch.

“Oh, yeah… just not used to going into people’s homes, especially a dame’s.” He replied, moving and sitting stiffly on the opposite end of her couch.

“Dame?”

“Do you… Do people not use that term anymore?”

“No, not really.” Camryn said, moving closer to him on the couch, watching as he got uncomfortable.. “Relax. I can’t show you anything when you are a mile away from me.”

“Oh, yeah I guess you have a point.”

“Yeah. So first we have to set the watch up to you. It uses retinal scanning for normal use, and then any sensitive, classified information requires a four digit pin, as well as a fingerprint scan. So first we input your name, ‘Steven Rogers’ and then we hold it up like this until the ring goes green.” She said, explaining her steps as she did them. “You already have a file at Shield so it will connect with that to verify identity.”

“This seems really complicated.” Steve said, trying to keep his eye still as the watch scanned it, waiting for the ring to go green like she had said.

“It’s really not. It’s pretty user friendly. My sister’s friend actually helped design these.” She hummed.

“You have a sister?” Steve asked, making light conversation as the ring went green.

“Yep. A sister and a brother. Jemma works for Shield as well. Sammy plays football. Ah, uh… soccer?” She said, a frown on her face. “British football.”

“They have different spots with the same name?”

“Yes. Don’t even get me started on how stupid it is. Anyways, next you need to decide which wrist you want to wear it on. I’m left handed so I wear it on my right. And then I use my pointer finger for scans.”

“So, I should do it on my left wrist?”

“That’s what I suggest.”

Steve did that, scanning his right pointer finger as it instructed him to do, glancing up at Camryn. “Are you and your siblings close? I was an only child, but… uh, nevermind.” He winced. He had been close to mentioning Bucky, but that wound was still way too fresh.

Camryn eyed him at his odd statement but shrugged. “Sort of, I guess. Me and Jemma are closer than Sammy and I, despite all of the problems we used to have in the past when we were teenagers.” 

“That’s good. Is she older than you?” He asked.

“Yeah, she’s three years older than I am. Sammy is seven years older than me.” She explained. “Okay, now that the watch is yours it’s pretty simple. New mission alerts will pop up on the screen and you’ll go to the location it says at the time it says for a briefing. This thing is loud so you can’t sleep through it.”

“Is that it?” Steve asked, looking at the small device.

“Yep. That’s pretty much all it is good for. It has a tracker in it, and can be used as an SOS if needed. But for now mission alerts are all you will really need to know what to do.” She explained. “And you should either wear it all the time or make sure you won’t forget it if you leave. They don’t care if you are at a movie or grocery shopping — if it goes off you get your ass to that briefing.”

“Okay. Thank you.” He said, strapping it to his wrist. “Some of this technology is really insane. Computers back in my day took up entire rooms. Now they are so tint they fit on your wrist and in your pocket.”

“Yeah, I guess that it must be a rough adjustment, huh?” She said. “How are you doing with it all?” She wondered.

“Depends on who you ask. I’m… coping, I guess. Still trying to wrap my brain around it all. I bought a gym. Have seventy years of army pension built up I guess. And got paid a lot when I woke up. It’s more money than I’ve ever seen.” He sighed. “I don’t really know what to do with it.”

“You keep it for a rainy day, I guess. I mostly live off my paychecks. I don’t have nearly as many bills though. This is a Shield apartment so basically I don’t pay living expenses. And I have a roommate, Emma. She’s practically never around though.” Camryn explained.

A meow turned her attention away from Steve and she smiled, reaching out to scratch behind the cat’s ears. “Hey there, Goosey.” She cooed softly.

“Goosey?” Steve repeated as he looked at the orange cat.

“Technically it’s Goose. I didn’t name him. Coulson got him from somewhere and gave him to me. Turns out he was allergic to cats.” She explained, a frown on her face at the mention of the man. “It’s just me and him most days. He’s old as hell though. I think Coulson said he was alien? But I laughed it off… after the other day though I may be more of a believer.”

“Gods and aliens.” Steve muttered in reply, shaking his head. “You know, I went to a future expo before I joined the army and boy did we get it all wrong.” He laughed softly.

“Yeah, the future probably was a let down. I mean, it’s just loud. And not very bright.” She said, glancing out her window as Goose crawled his way into her lap, purring softly. “Sometimes I actually kind of hate it. Yeah, the technological and other advances make things easier and save lives, but the pollution… the famine that still exists? All the bad sometimes seems to outweigh the good.”

“Is that why you decided to join Shield?” Steve asked curiously, watching her with interest.

“No, uh, actually my brother wanted to.” She said.

“Sammy?” He frowned. “I thought he was the Football player?”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Sammy is. My other brother. My twin.” She said, rubbing the tattoo on her wrist. Steve hadn’t noticed it before now. It looked like a heartbeat, like how you would see one on a monitor. Underneath were the initials CAS and a date. “He died when we were twelve. No clue why. His heart just stopped. He wanted to do some good in the world. To change it. After he died I decided to do what he no longer could. Turns out I was pretty good at being an agent. Top of my class at the Academy.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for your loss.” Steve said softly.

She shrugged. “It was eight years ago now. I’m past greving. Got the tattoo when I was sixteen after convincing my mum and dad. It’s his last heartbeat. He was my best friend so I just felt like I needed to.”

“I never had noticed it before now.” Steve admitted. “CES?”

“I wear makeup over it on missions. It’s an identifier so I have to make sure it and my other tattoos are covered up.” She explained. “Christopher Eli Simmons. My parents wanted our initials to match for some unknown reason. I’m Camryn Elyzabeth. Honestly it just kinda made things confusing.” She laughed.

“I’ll bet.” He said.

“Uh, sorry, I made this kind of depressing, didn’t I?” She laughed uncomfortably.

She missed her brother a lot, and she didn’t usually talk about him at all. Typically whenever anyone asked she just told them to leave her alone and went on her way, but something about Steve made her want to tell him. She knew he of all people wouldn’t judge her. 

“No, you didn’t. I asked.” Steve said. “What about the kid you had helped? Did you ever find him?”

“No… I’ve been looking but it’s surprisingly hard. I just hope he is okay.” She sighed softly.

“I’m sure he is. You shouldn’t worry about it too much. But I probably should go.” Steve said, standing up. “Thank you so much for helping me out with the watch, Camryn. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course.” She said, moving Goose from her lap and standing up to show him out. “Just let me know if you need anything else. I’m on probation for at least another week. And if I’m not grounded then I’ll be back to work hopefully.”

“Grounded?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, uh… my mum found out I’m an agent. She thought I was a Violinist for a symphony… she’s a bit mad.” Camryn winced.

“I think that’s a story for another time. One I definitely want to hear.” Steve admitted, a small smile on his lips. There was just something about Camryn that made things not seem so bad. She wasn’t Peggy by any means, and he was not moving on from her any time soon, but she was nice. He needed a bit of that now.

“I’ll remember that. Until next time, Steve.” She said, opening the door for him.

“Bye Camryn. And maybe if you actually do what the doctor says you’ll be back to work.” He pointed out.

“Nah, following orders isn’t really my style, Cap.” She said with a wink. “You’ll learn that soon enough.”

Steve felt his cheeks heat up and he looked away to hide the red he was sure was noticeable. “Yeah, I’m sure I will. Goodnight.” He said, turning and walking out of her place and heading down the stairs to his own apartment.

“Night.” She called after him before closing the door with a soft sigh. That was the most social interaction she had gotten outside of work in a long time. She wasn’t an introvert, but most people just tended to annoy her. Plus she didn’t usually have much time for friends, not when she was on classified missions every weekend. 

Surprisingly she found herself hoping things with Steve would be different.


	7. 07

It wasn’t unusual for Steve to find his way over to Camryn’s apartment. Modern day left him confused and in need of help quite often, and she was the only person he knew to ask. His questions always ranged from how to play CD’s to how to get his phone to do something specific.

To Camryn’s credit, she was always patient with him. She never snapped at him and she always answered every question he had for her. She grew used to his company and his presence, and Steve feared he was beginning to grow reliant on hers.

Despite how often Steve found himself at Camryn’s place, it was never late at night. And certainly never two in the morning.

It was the frantic knocking that had Camryn sighing, pulling away from the bag she was packing for a new mission. Her watch had only buzzed minutes ago.

His face was of pure and utter frustration when she opened the door. He felt bad, believing he had woken her up.

“Steve? What are you doing here?” She asked in confusion. It was the middle of the night. Sure she was awake, but she didn’t figure he had any reason to be.

“It’s my watch. It won’t shut off. And it’s all frozen.” He frowned, holding the small device toward her.

She glanced down at the watch that had an alarm going off, the screen frozen with the words ‘Mission Alert’ in bright red.

“Did you try resetting it?” She asked curiously, hitting a few buttons. The watch instantly turned black before completely restarting, the Shield logo popping up.

“No, I did not.” He replied with a frown. “How did you do that?” He asked her with wide eyes as he took the watch back, looking at the mission like he had tried to the first time. Only this time it didn’t go as wrong.

“I just hit these buttons.” She said, reaching over and holding the power button and the volume button until a screen popped up, giving the option to restart the device.

“Oh. Thanks. I’m sorry for waking you up.” He said. “I guess I freaked out a bit.”

“You didn’t wake me. I’m up for a mission, and by the looks of it the same mission as you?” She said, nodding to the screen.

“Depends on if you’re getting briefed for a steakout.” He said, knowing it was too much of a coincidence to not be the same mission.

“Yeah. Have to be there in twenty minutes. You might want to get packed.” She said. “Welcome to Shield, Steve.”

Camryn wasn’t stupid. She knew this meant he had officially accepted Fury’s offer to join the agency. And it wasn’t a surprise he was so quickly on a mission. She assumed though she would be training him in a sense, considering she was the level six agent, and he was a newbie.

“Yeah, thanks. When I met with Fury yesterday he mentioned something about being level eight?” Steve asked, his brow furrowed. “I don’t really know what that means.”

Camryn stopped, her eyes narrowing. “I’m sorry, what? Level eight?” She asked.

Steve tilted his head to the side as he looked at her. “Yeah? Why? What does it mean?” He asked.

“Level eight means how high a clearance level you have is. I’m a level six.” She snapped. She was mad. She had worked for the title she had since she was a teenager, and he walked in and was just handed a level eight clearance. 

Steve frowned, not at all understanding why she was getting so mad at him. “Camryn, I didn’t do anything wrong? Why are you getting so upset?” He asked.

She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Go get ready before you’re late.” She said sternly. “I’ll see you there.”

She had been planning on offering him a ride, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to anymore.

The door closed after Camryn watched Steve walk away, and she quickly returned to gathering what she needed, consulting her steakout packing list to double check she had what she needed.

“Goose,” she whisper-shouted, not wanting to wake Emma up. “C’mere, kitty, kitty, kitty.”

The cat mewled as he came from his spot on her bed, stretching before making his way over to her and jumping on the couch beside her bag.

“Good kitty. Mama will be back in a few days, okay? Be good for Emma.” She said. She knew the cat had a love-hate relationship with the woman, but she really had no desire to return to Emma complaining about how mean the cat was.

After checking that the cat feeder was set right, she grabbed her keys and her gun from the safe and headed down to her car in the garage. She glanced at Steve, seeing him load his motorcycle.

With a sigh, she called him over. “Rogers, I’ll give you a ride. Let’s go before I change my mind.”

Steve tried not to look hopeful as he grabbed his bag and moved to the passenger side of the car, opening the door and climbing in.

“Thanks.” He said softly. “And about earlier, I don’t know what I did to upset you, but I’m sorry.”

She groaned. “Why do you have to be such a nice person, Steve? It makes it really hard to be mad at you.” She huffed as she pulled out of the parking lot.

“Well, maybe if you explain why you were mad in the first place I can help you not be mad?” He suggested. He didn’t like it when she was mad. He wanted her to be happy, and he especially wanted her to be happy around him.

She sighed. “I’ll explain later. We have a mission we need to focus on.”

“Yeah, okay. Makes sense. Focus.” He said in agreement, even though he really wanted to know how he upset her so he didn’t do it again.

The rest of the drive they sat in silence, and it was rather suffocating when the pair typically could find something to talk about, even if it was what movie Steve planned to watch next.

Both were thankful when Camryn pulled into the parking lot of headquarters, turning her car off and grabbing her bag. 

“Come on. We’re late.” She said. She knew whoever was giving them their mission would be mad. A good agent was never late, and it had been years since she had been penalized for tardiness.

“It was briefing room 3B, right?” Steve asked as they walked. Even though he was a super-soldier, he was struggling to keep pace with Camryn. 

“Are you asking me or telling me?” She shot back. As a level eight agent he should know the answer to his question. 

Steve swallowed nervously, sensing a bit of hostility. “Telling.” He said, clearing his throat.

She rolled her eyes and moved on. Deep down she knew it wasn’t Steve’s fault the level he was assigned, but she couldn’t help how annoyed she got when she was reminded that he knew nothing about how Shield worked.

“Here we are.” She mumbled as they walked into the briefing room, Maria waiting for them with an impatient look on her face.

“You’re late, Simmons.” She said, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “I would have expected more from a level six agent.”

“Yeah, well, I was kinda busy helping the level eight agent. Shouldn’t you expect more from him too?” She snarked back. She really wasn’t in the mood.

“Captain Rogers is new to the agency. Everyone gets leeway in the beginning.” Maria replied sternly.

“He shouldn’t be entering the agency as a level eight agent then. He knows nothing about how this agency works! If you want to give him leeway, that’s all fine and good, but don’t start him at a level where he should be leading the missions, not being taught proper protocol.” Camryn snapped.

“Need I remind you who you are talking to, Agent Simmons? Captain Rogers got the position that was believed to be deserved after his actions in Manhattan.”

“You mean the same actions I performed?” She asked with a scoff. “No, he was given the position because he’s Captain America. Not because he has proven he deserves it.”

“Regardless, it’s not your place.” Maria reminded, glaring at the woman. “End of discussion. Sit down to be briefed before I remove you from this mission.”

At the possibility of being taken off a mission, Camryn quickly shut her mouth and sat down, even if she was still mad.

Steve was left in the awkward position of standing in the doorway. He hadn’t expected the slight blowup on Camryn’s part, and he certainly hadn’t thought her anger would be caused by him, even if it was directed at Maria.

“It’s a simple steakout mission. Russel Hess has been evading the police for months. He’s one of the top dogs of a designer drug ring. The apartment you’ll be watching is believed to be his current hideout,” Maria said. “Your mission is to watch it until we have confirmation the target is there and then bring him in.”

“Easy enough.” Camryn said.

“What’s our timeline?” Steve asked, getting into his mission mode.

“Sources say we have three days before we have no chance of catching him there. He doesn’t stay in one place for long.” Maria replied. “You’ll be supplied with additional files and equipment. He’s the key to the apartment across the street where you’ll be staying.”

She slid the key across the table to Camryn who caught it with ease. She then stood up, knowing that was all they were going to get from the woman. 

“Let’s go. It’ll be in the car.” She said to Steve, knowing he was likely not going to understand otherwise.

Steve nodded in understanding, getting up and following her out. He was somehow unsurprised as she led him to a Shield issued car, the air between them more tense than it had been before.

“Look, I get you are mad. But we have a mission to focus on. So put that aside for now, and we can talk about it later.” Steve said as she started the car.

Camryn paused at his words. “I’m sorry what? You’re calling into question my focus on a mission?” She asked, her eyes narrowing as she turned to look at him. “Do not even go there with me, Rogers. I have been training to be an agent since I was thirteen years old. Never once have I let my emotions get in the way of a mission. Did I after Coulson died? No. I didn’t. So do not think you have the right to question me.”

Steve didn’t know what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything at all. The pair worked in mostly silence for the first day of their mission, aside from short conversations about meals, or establishing shifts to watch the door of the house.

“Simmons, it’s my turn.” Steve said after wandering out of the bedroom. It was two in the morning and he had already been asleep four hours, if you could even call it sleep. Whatever it was, it wasn’t very restful, and Steve knew he was likely running off adrenaline.

“I’m good. I’ve not been sitting here long. You can go back to bed.” She said stiffly. She was still frustrated with the situation and taking it out on him. They hadn’t exactly had a chance to properly talk to each other about the situation. When Steve had tried he managed to make her more upset.

“I’m not going back to bed.” He said sternly. “We take shifts. This is how this works. You agreed to it earlier.”

“Yeah, well, now I’m saying I don’t need to switch out.” She replied, staring out the window with binoculars. They had a camera on the door, but she preferred to use her own eyes, just in case someone had tampered with the camera.

“And I’m telling you that you’re going to.” Steve said, his tone holding an unsaid warning. “Simmons, I really don’t want to have to pull the seniority card here.”

“Seniority? What seniority? The only seniority you have on me is being born in the 1930s.” She snapped, rounding on him. “You may be a level eight agent, but don’t think for one second you’re my superior.”

“It doesn’t matter how I got the position. I am your superior. And you will do as I say.” Steve nearly growled. “Go.”

“No.” She replied simply. “Make me.”

She resumed looking out the window with her binoculars, beginning to ignore the man behind her. If he wanted her focused on the mission, that’s what he was going to get.

“Simmons, you think I won’t throw you over my shoulder and carry you into that bedroom. Get up and—” She shushed him quickly. “Do not shush me.” He warned her.

“No, seriously, shut up.” She said, her focus out the window more intense. 

“Why are you telling me to shut up?”

“Oh my god, what part of shut up do you not understand? Come look.” She said, handing him the binoculars. “You see the person in the suit? Who is still in a suit at three am?”

“He could just be getting home.” Steve suggested.

“He’s not drunk though. Look, what event would keep him out this late that didn’t have alcohol? Clearly he wasn’t concerned with driving. He got out of a cab.” She said. “Plus, look. The suit is freshly pressed. And no sort of briefcase. I’ll bet you that’s our guy.”

“So then we go apprehend him.” Steve said, moving to the door. Camryn stood up and grabbed his arm.

“No, we need confirmation first. He kept his face well hidden.” She said.

“How do we get that?” He asked in confusion.

“It’s simple.” She said. Ten minutes later she was outside the apartment door, dressed in scrubs. She plastered a worried and apologetic look on her face before knocking.

The door cracked open, the chain still in place. Whoever was in that apartment was not very welcoming to strangers.

“Yes?” The voice asked gruffly. “Who is it? What do you want?”

“Hi. I’m Elaina. I live in the apartment down the hall? I have work in a few minutes and I just locked myself out of my apartment, and my phone is in there too. Do you think I could maybe borrow yours to call my boyfriend? He’s inside asleep, and I saw you going into your apartment and figured you might be awake.” She said. “I’m so sorry to be a bother.”

The man on the other side hesitated a moment, eyeing her up and down. She was a pretty girl, with no visible weapons. And she was dressed in scrubs, name tag and all. She seemed harmless enough.

The door closed and she could hear the chain being moved before the door swung completely open, revealing the target. He offered her his phone and Camryn took it gratefully.

“Thank you so much, sir. I’ll only be a minute.” She said, dialing Steve’s number. “Hey, yeah. It’s me. We’ve got our guy.” She said, her entire tone and demeanour changing.

The target realized what was happening a second too late, making a run for the fire escape, only to be met with Captain America climbing through the window and blocking his path.

“Russel Hess, you are under arrest for the illegal creation and selling of designer drugs. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you.” Camryn said, reading him his rights as she approached him and put the cuffs on him.

Camryn didn’t talk to Steve the entire time they booked the target, and when they got back to their places, she went inside her apartment without a word. It was going to take her some time to get over it all.


	8. 08

It had been days since Steve’s first Shield mission, and once they had arrived back at their apartment building, Camryn hadn’t spoken a single word to the man. She was being petty, she knew that, but she also didn’t care too much. She needed time to come to terms with the situation before she could hold a conversation with Steve, which unfortunately left the poor man in the dark.

Ever since the mission, Steve had been left wondering what he had done to anger Camryn so much. He hadn’t meant to, and it was discouraging to him as he felt like he had already lost the only person he had really connected with in the twenty-first century.

Deep down he knew he wasn’t at fault, and after replaying everyone of their conversations he knew there was nothing he had done to make her mad, but he couldn’t help but feel guilty.

He was smart enough to know though that he had to wait for Camryn to make the first move. He had stopped attempting to make contact with her after the first day of radio silence, and after some convincing, he knew she ultimately had to apologize to him for her behavior.

He just had to be patient, which was luckily one of his strong suits when it came to women. He just hoped Camryn didn’t leave him hanging.

It was another two long days before there was a knock on his door, and Steve knew there was no one else it could be. His super soldier hearing may have aided him as well.

“Hey,” she said softly when he opened the door. “Look, I think we have a few things we need to talk about. Mind if I come in?”

“Depends. Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Or are you going to continue to ice me out? Because trust me, I’ve had enough ice to last me a lifetime.” He said, opening the door wider for her to step inside.

“I’m here to talk.” She assured him, laughing nervously. “I owe you an explanation anyhows, so yeah…”

Camryn had never been great at apologizing. Even if she was younger she would do everything to avoid it. She hated being wrong, especially if it was her sister outsmarting her. 

But Steve wasn’t her sister, and she knew he hadn’t intentionally done anything. He didn’t do anything to deserve her silent treatment, and she wasn’t that same little girl anymore.

“I’m not mad at you specifically, I promise.” She started out. “I’m more frustrated with the situation, and quite honestly, Fury.”

Steve took a seat on his couch and motioned for her to join him, deciding to stay quiet for the time being. He would see what she had to say first.

“Ever since I was a kid I’ve kinda been outshined by my siblings. My sister was the super smart one, my older brother was the athletic one, and Chris… he was just everyone’s favorite. He just kind of had this air about him that made everyone love him. Me? Not so much.” She sighed. “My entire life I’ve had to work really hard to get my fair share, to get where I am today. I joined Shield when I was thirteen, and I have fought every day to get where I am.”

She paused, taking a breath.

“When I found out you were just… handed your position, it hurt, and I don’t like showing it, so it makes me mad. And I have no right to be mad. No right to be upset, because you weren’t just handed it. Not really. You went through all your own stuff to get where you are too…”

“But in the heat of the moment it seemed like I didn’t deserve what I got?” Steve finished for her. “Camryn, I never meant to undermine you, or try to outshine you or anything.”

“I know, I know. And that’s why it’s stupid, and why I’m apologizing.” She said. “I’m sorry for getting mad. I’m sorry for not being as professional as I should have on the mission, and I’m sorry for treating you horribly these last couple of days. Will you forgive me?”

“Of course, doll. Thank you for apologizing. And I knew you were never mad at me.” He said.

“Doll?” She asked before she could stop herself.

Steve’s cheeks flushed when he realized what he had said. It had just slipped out without him even noticing.

“Uh, yeah. It’s a 40s thing. Sorry,” He apologized quickly. He just hoped she didn’t ask any more questions. He really didn’t want to explain the meaning behind it and embarrass himself further by having to tell her he called her beautiful.

“Okay then…” She said, sensing his reluctance to talk anymore about it. She’d worry about it later. “Look… I want to make it up to you.”

“Camryn, it’s really alright. You don’t have to.” He said, shaking his head.

“But I want to. Just hear me out. I know there have been a few things you have wanted to do, so I was thinking maybe we could go out for the day and do them?” She suggested.

Steve was about to answer when his watch buzzed, and he frowned, looking down at it. This time it wasn’t a mission briefing, it was just a normal summons to headquarters.

“Oh… it looks like I have to go.” He said softly, glancing up at Camryn. “I’m sorry. Another time, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. It’s okay. I promise I understand.” She replied. Sure she was a bit disappointed, but she wouldn’t say anything. He had to work. “I’ll just leave you to get ready. Make sure you have an overnight bag. There’s no telling what they want you to do.”

“Yeah, thanks for the advice, Cami. I’ll see you later.” He said, walking her out the door.

“See you later.” She said before heading upstairs to her apartment.

Camryn expected she wouldn't see Steve for a few days, but what she didn’t expect was to get a similar message that he had only an hour after he had left. Despite her confusion, she quickly got ready, going through her normal rituals of writing Emma a note, saying goodbye to her cat, and double-checking her packing list before heading out the door.

When she got to Shield, Steve was waiting for her with a sheepish expression on his face.

“I hope you didn’t have any plans.” He said. “They wanted me to lead a security detail in Washington and I requested you to be on my team.”

Camryn looked at him in surprise. “Really? Even after what happened on the last mission?” She asked.

He nodded. “You apologized, and we still got the mission completed. I think we actually make a pretty good team. If you’re ready to go I can explain the mission to you on the way to DC.”

She nodded in understanding before following him to the Quinjet that would take them.

“There is a very important Gala happening tomorrow evening. Apparently, they wanted me on the detail.” Steve explained. “Fury said there have been multiple threats against the event already which is why he wanted the best of the best… and why I chose you.”

“So the entire mission is just basically a protevtive detail? Keeping an eye out for anything strange?” She clarified as they sat down and strapped in.

“Yes. Exactly. We’ll get to DC soon, and we’ll have the rest of the day to do whatever we want. They have us a hotel.” Steve explained. Really they had gotten him a hotel, but he wasn’t making Camryn sleep in the Shield barracks. That would just be mean. “Then tomorrow we get to work with the security detail. It’ll be mostly Shield agents, but we have to touch base with personal bodyguards.”

“And we only have the day of the gala to plan this? Seems a bit ridiculous.” She said, shaking her head.

“It’s mostly planned, we are just supposed to look over it and make changes as we deem necessary.” Steve explained.

“That makes more sense.” She agreed, nodding her head as they took off.

The ride was cut in half thanks to the speed of the Quinjet, putting them landing only two hours later. Camryn wasn’t upset about that. Flying wasn’t her favorite thing after the jet crashed in New York.

Camryn sighed, grabbing her bag as they headed off and into the DC headquarters. “Okay, where’s this hotel?” She asked curiously, glancing at Steve. “Wait… actually, can we make a detour?”

Steve frowned as he glanced at her. “What kind of detour?” He asked curiously as he got in the driver’s seat of the car they were being lent for the trip.

“The Air and Space Museum?” She suggested sweetly.

Steve made a face of confusion before nodding. “Okay. I don’t see why not. Let’s check into the hotel first and set down our stuff and then we can go.” He decided.

Camryn nodded, letting him take the lead and drive them to their hotel. She was worried her plan could end horribly, that she could upset Steve and leave him unable to go on the mission, but she hoped that wouldn’t be the case. She was well aware that Steve didn’t even know the extent of what lied in the Air and Space Museum, but she was sure he would be surprised, regardless of if it was a positive or negative reaction.

When they checked into their hotel, Camryn groaned when she saw the single bed. She looked at Steve, crossing her arms over her chest sternly.

“You were the only one who was supposed to stay in the hotel, weren’t you?” She asked. After all, they were in the nicest room in the hotel. And she knew they would have had two beds if they planned for her to be there.

Steve’s expression was sheepish as he rubbed his neck. “Maybe.” He said, glancing away from her gaze. He couldn’t bring himself to lie to her. “It’s okay. I can take the couch. You can sleep in the bed.” He assured her. He didn’t want her to be uncomfortable by sharing a bed with him. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure he was ready for that either.

“No, no. We’re both adults. We can handle it. Right?” She pointed out, setting her bag down. “Now come on. We wanna have time at the museum.”

The museum was packed full of people, and Steve had decided to go with an incognito look. Even without the Captain America exhibit, he was so easily recognized. Being a celebrity was exhausting, and he had no desire to deal with the possible swarms of people.

Once through security, Camryn was on a woman on a mission, grabbing his hand and leading him along. Steve didn’t understand what was happening, his brow furrowed in confusion. 

“Cami, why aren’t we looking at anything?” He asked her, hyper-aware of how her hand fit into his. The minimalist of contact seemed to get him all flustered, and his cheeks had a nearly undetectable tint of pink on them. She made him nervous in a way he wasn’t used to.

“Because we are going to an incredibly specific exhibit.” She told him, hoping so far he hadn’t seen the influx in children wearing Captain America merchandise. “Close your eyes.”

Steve wasn’t sure what made him follow the command so easily, but he knew he trusted Camryn. It was why he had picked her to go on the mission after all. In a short period of time after waking up, she was the only one who had made a real effort to help him, and with that came a build up of trust, something that seemed to be a luxury in Steve’s eyes.

They continued walking for a few more paces before Camryn stopped him, saying a quiet ‘you can open them’ he was sure he would have missed had it not been for his enhanced hearing. She was nervous.  _ But why?  _ He wondered.

He opened his eyes slowly and saw something that surprised him. Plastered all over the walls was him. There was a graphic on one wall of him when he was skinny and weak, only for it to fade and show him after he received the serum. He heard a narrator a moment later, beginning to tell a story — his story specifically.

“Are you okay?” Camryn asked after a moment, seeing his shell shocked expression.

“Uh… Uh… Y–Yeah. But,” he took a breath. “What is all of this?”

“It’s you.” Camryn said simply, wringing her fingers together. “It’s about your life. Both before and after you became Captain America. You were the world’s first superhero. An American icon. Of course they had to honor you in some way.”

Steve moved forward, looking around. His hands had begun to shake slightly, his heart rate increasing. An entire exhibit of him. It just didn’t make sense. When he saw the exhibit on Bucky, his heart seemed to stop and he was overwhelmed with emotion.

“There’s a part about Agent Carter too, later on in the exhibit.” Camryn said gently. It was common knowledge in the twenty-first century the two had feelings for one another, so Camryn was trying to ensure she was being tactful.

“Peggy?” He asked brokenly.

It was the most raw emotion Camryn had ever seen from him. She took a step closer, lacing her fingers through his and hugging his arm.

“Do you want to go through? Or would you rather just go back to the hotel?” She asked. The question was meant to gauge his mental state, and to show him she would support him in whatever choice he decided to make. She didn’t want him to think he was obligated to go through.

“Hotel.” He admitted after a moment. He wasn’t ready for this. It seemed like such a big step. Even if all it was was seeing his early life and his accomplishments. But there was something uncomfortable about it too, everything talking about him like he was dead.

He should have been, he knew that. But it seemed like there were bigger plans in store for him, ones already in play from the moment he went in the ice. He was never supposed to die, even if he wished he had. 

“Okay, let’s go back to the hotel then.” She agreed, squeezing his hand.

It felt like it had been forever since he had had someone so supportive of him. The last person he could remember was Peggy. Even after Bucky had died, Peggy did what she could to help him where he needed. Steve saw those qualities in Camryn and it made his heart warm a bit.

Maybe things weren’t so bad after all. He hoped it meant he could get through it. After all, it seemed like Camryn might be all the support he needed.


End file.
